This book instilled in me a thirst for traveling. I miss Naples, I miss Rome and Italy in general. So that played a huge part in why I was enthralled with this book. Despite this I also wouldn't want to have Ripley as my travel companion. It's easy to see from the beginning that he has a paranoid and warped view of the people around him. All of that just intensifies over the course of the story, culminating in murder. I found the facts after it to be dragging a little while we are immersed into the people closest to the murdered. It a perverse parody of sorts and you're wishing at every turn that someone will please finally find out the truth about Ripley's actions.
I am not sure if I want to read any of the other novels but I'll definitely finally watch the movie with Matt Damon as Ripley.